By Chris Spangler
The Fort Atkinson Plan Commission on Tuesday advanced creating a second mural on downtown water-utility buildings along the north bank of the Rock River.
The panel approved the Fort Atkinson Beautification Council’s special area design review request to paint the mural featuring local history on the riverfront facade of the water reservoir building at 31 N. Water St. West.
Conditions include that a paint primer be placed on the wall by the end of this year and the entire mural be completed by the end of 2023. In addition, the Beautification Council must continue to work with the city on long-term maintenance of this and a mural on the adjacent Water Department building that was painted by Larry Schultz in 2019.
The local artist will return for this project, painting it in a style similar to that of the first.
The city zoning code states that any changes made to buildings within the Downtown Mixed-use Historic District must undergo a special area design review by the Plan Commission.
On Tuesday, Beautification Council President Jude Hartwick briefly outlined the plans, which call for first placing tan outdoor mural primer over the current white walls.
The mural would be located on the water reservoir’s lower three panels. The top three panels would be painted as sky scenes, with clouds and blue skies, while the lower three panels would feature the Rock River, with various historic buildings on either side.
The westernmost panel would include a Native American settlement and effigy mounts, particularly the panther intaglio; the Rufus and Lucretia Dodge log cabin; Northwestern Manufacturing; the Milo and Sally Jones house; the Green Mountain House; the Christmas tree that at once adorned the riverfront in Lorman-Bicentennial Park for years; and a steam engine.
The center panel would feature a raft portraying early crossings of the river; the former Nasco building; the Lucien Caswell house; riverbank fishermen; Louis Lorman’s scrap metal building; the Dwight and Almira Foster House; Bettersox Knitting Mills; a small fort; the catfish sculpture on South Main Street; and the original Fireside Dinner Theatre.
On the east panel would be farmland; the Eli May house; St. Paul’s Lutheran Church; the Masonic Lodge, now the Fort Atkinson Club; and the original Dwight Foster Public Library.
The mural will include signage and QR codes redirecting viewers to the Hoard Historical Museum and its webpage for more information on these landmarks and the city’s overall past.
With public fundraising, the Beautification Council hopes to garner about $18,000 by July 2023 to cover the project. The organization has applied for a grant from the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation.
An earlier story on the proposed mural is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/beautification-council-proposes-second-downtown-fort-mural/. A story about the first mural, and its artist, is available here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/milton-artist-fort-mural/.
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